A WORLD OF CHANGE

Evening Post, Volume CXVII, Issue 49, 27 February 1934, Page 10

A WORLD OF CHANGE

CHILDREN AND FUTURE

NOTED WRITER'S ADDRESS

That tho younger generation now growing up was going to livo iv an extremely interesting ago was a remark made by Mr. Hcndrik Willcm Van Loon, tho celebrated Dutch author and historian, in tho course of an address to the pupils of Queen Margaret College yesterday afternoon during his short visit to Wellington as lecturer on tho pleasure-liner Franconia. Mr. Van Loon said that when ho was young things were very settled and . nothing was questioned, but now the world was in' a state of change. Referring to Shakespeare's famous phrase "To bo or not to be," 'the speaker said it was difficult to know what was meant, and he would like to alter it to "To have or to be." Formerly people thought that they had to have Valuable possessions, but it was more and more being realised that "being" counted a great deal more than "having." Remarking that throughout history it had often happened that persons who had done great things had been considered failures by their neighbours, Mr. Van Loon said that Captain Cook's reward for discovering New Zealand was a dagger in his back, Columbus had been put in irons for discovering America, and the man who had discovered the Pacific Ocean had had his head taken off.

HISTORY AS A STUDY. ' "Take it and s?udy it; it is tremendously interesting and bright," he said in discussing the value of history. The changes taking place in the world today were on a scale probably not equalled since the fall of the Roman Empire, and tho French Revolution was of slight importance compared with the changes taking place today. Tho old system was disappearing, probably because it had outlived its usefulness. It appeared :that 2000 years was the period each civilisation lasted, and the form that the world had be*en used to during the past 2000 years was now passing away. Mr. Van Loon paid a high tribute to tho physical beauties of New Zealand, saying that it was the most beautiful part of the world he had seen. New Zealandcrs also had the advantage of being far from the perpetual quarrels of the European nations, and the children were infinitely bettor off than the children of other ' parts of tho world. This was important, since it depended largely on'the children of the world whether civilisation would be able to pass through its present crisis.